Crushed: The Beginnings

by Silent Wing

08 Mango

It turned out that Flitter wasn't joking and actually went with us to the Spa, but it wasn't as bad as we two expected it to be. She just walked in with us to the reception, to make an appointment for next week. Rumble and I both declined eagerly, when the blue earth pony mare with a pink mane asked us, if we want to join her.

With that out of the way we were unsure what to do next and so there was a short discussion in which Rumble suggest that we should get a book and take turns reading so everypony would have fun. Flitter was heads over hooves for the idea and I only agreed, after she bribed me with a milkshake later in Sugar Cube Corner. We got one of the Daring Doo novels from home and went to the park. The first two Chapters were good and I really enjoyed the story, but when it was my turn, I discovered something I feared the entire time. I couldn’t read a single word, since this script was totally foreign to me. I wasn't surprised by it, but when I realized that I had to learn how to read and write again, I broke down into tears.

First they were shocked from my sudden outburst, but after I calmed down enough and started to explain, they understood and quickly promised to help me with that. First we tried it with the help of the current book, but our efforts weren't very successful. Rumble mentioned that he has something at home that could help, since it helped him to learn how to read, so we decided to take a break.

I watched Rumble and Flitter for a while before I laid down in the shadow of a tree, trying to catch up a bit on my sleep. I said tried, since barley after I laid down and closed my eyes, I heard hoofsteps coming to me and felt somepony nuzzling my check. I cracked my eyes open again and turned around to search for the source of disturbance, only to find myself nuzzle to nuzzle with mama D. "Mama D, shouldn’t you be at work?" I ask confused, since I expected her not that early.

"Already done for today Wingy." She responds with a cocky grin. "If you want to take a nap I know a better way than like this."

"Without leaving the shadow?" I ask, unsure how that could be possible.

"Sure Wingy, I just need a moment." She replies before taking off into the sky, returning with a large cloud only a minute later. Before I know what's happening, she grabs me at my neck and throws me onto the cloud, before settling down next to me. "So now mind telling me what's bothering you so much that you rather sleep, then have fun with those two?" She asks with a comforting smile, while pointing towards Rumble and Flitter.

I scoot closer to her, so that my head rests in her chestfluff, when I lay down, before looking up to her. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Wingy, I would never do such a thing." She promises and after a moment of hesitation, I tell her what the three of us found out earlier and how upset I am with my lack of progress. "I think I know someone that will be able to help you, what do you think should we visit her later?"

I have a feeling who she could mean and that's a encounter, I am not looking forward to, still slightly scared from what I know about that pony. I think for a moment how to avoid that encounter, at least for now, until I remember Rumbles words from earlier. "No, Rumble already promised to help me. But if that doesn't work, we can still visit your friend right?"

"Okay Wingy. You still want to take a nap?" She wants to know from me after a short break, but instead of answering her, I just close my eyes again. Falling asleep should be easy with such a nice fluffy cloud beneath me and my very comfortable pillow. "Nope Wingy, you have to earn it first."

I crack an eye open, looking at her. "What do you mean by earning it?"

"That you have to escape me first." She indicates with a devisius grin.

"Why should I do this," I ask her confused, unaware of the warning she gives me. "I am very comfortable at the moment." I reply before I close my eye again.

At first everything seems fine to me and I think that the feathers brushing over me, are just from a wing she is carefully placing over me, but my eyes shot open in shock, when she furiously begins to tickle me. "Please, stop it." I manage to scream out between fits of laughter.

"You know what you have to do for that Wingy." She replies in a short break, which I use to back a bit away from her.

On one side I really want to just lay around for a bit and sleep, but on the other side I am now too awake, to even think about it. This leaves me with only one option and I reply "as if you would ever be able to catch me," before jumping from the cloud and bolting away towards Rumble and mom.

It takes only a few moments before she gets down from the cloud to and starts pursuing me. I let her come closer to me and when she is close enough to me, I just sidestep, which cause her to crash into mom. "RAINBOW, what in Tartarus was that for?" She shouts towards her, while untangling from her. Rumble and I meanwhile rolling around on our backs unable to hold our laughter back.

"Sorry Flitt, but I have a filly to catch." She answers before running over to me and I realize too late, that watching this crash was a wrong decision, when she pokes me in my side. "tag."

"You playing tag without us?" Flitter wants to know from us, still a bit shaken from the crash.

I slowly walk over towards her and stop directly in front of her. "Well, if you insist mom." I answer before poking her in the side, "Your it," before running away.

This goes on till it gets dark and all four of us are totally exhausted by it. When we arrive home, we just have a simple meal of daisy sandwiches, before all four of us go to bed early.

---

It was in the middle of the night and I was shot awake from another nightmare. Unable to fall asleep again, I get out of my bed and walk to the window on the other side of the room. Carefully I push it open, trying not to wake Rumble, before I jump into the backyard. Luckily my room is on the ground floor and so it wasn't more than a meter to the ground (3.3 feet). I walked into the middle of the open area, were nothing would block the view on the night sky, before I set down in silence.

I enjoy the sight while thinking about all that happened to me since I woke up in the Castle and I jump in shock, when a voice from behind me asks. "Shouldn’t you be in bed kido?" I took a moment to recover from the shock, before I turned around, only to see two slited, glowing eyes staring directly at me. I try to back away in fear from this creature, but find myself all to soon with my back to the garden fence.

The closer the creature comes, the more I panic, until I am so scared that I close my eyes in fear of what could happen next. I hear the creature coming closer, stopping directly in front of me. "Sorry kid, I didn't want to startle you."

Did that thing really just apologize to me? I wait for a few more moments, but when nothing bad happens, I slowly crack my eyes open. I spot the creature standing not even a meter in front of me and even if I can't see well in the dark, I recognize it immediately as a Bat-Pony. Hadn't I been so scared by his eyes earlier, maybe I would have seen the purple helmet and armor of Princess Lunas Night Guard. "Don't worry, I won't harm you." He says, while I get up and walk back to my spot from earlier to lay down again, so that I can take a good look at the moon.

I wait there and enjoy the view till he finally comes over and sits down next to me. We both sit there in silence until he lays one of his wings protective over me, when he sees me shivering from the cold. "That feels weird."

"What do you mean kid?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well your wing, it's just so different than those of a pegasus." I reply, without really thinking about it.

"That's all?" He pauses for a moment before he looks at me with a thoughtful expression. "Mind to tell me why you aren't in bed, like all the other day dwellers?"

Now it's my time to be confused by his words. "Day Dwellers, what do you mean with that?"

"That's how we Thestralls call the ponies, that are only awake when the sun is up," He explains. "But don’t let us get of topic. So once again, mind to tell me why you aren't in your bed?"

I sigh in defeat, before I admit. "I couldn't sleep and thought it would be a good idea to get some fresh air, since my mothers are probably busy again." I reply before adding, "The sight of the moon and the stars always helps me to calm down"

"And what's with your dad, truly there must be one in your herd." He asks surprised, after he realized what I meant with 'busy'.

I just hang my head low, shaking it in denial. "Sorry kid," he replies.

"You couldn't have known, they just adopted me recently." I tell him, unsure why I feel so comfortable around him. Maybe it's just because it’s night, like when I met mom for the first time, since I always felt safer in the dark.

"That may be, but I still feel bad that I brought it up at all." He responds after a few moments of silence. "But that isn't all, am I correct?"

Again I shake my head in denial, before I admit, "I am scared."

"Scared?" he asks confused, "What is there to be scared young filly?"

I don't know why, but something inside me, wants me to just tell him everything. But the thought how he would react, scares me as much as the thought about how mommy and mama D would react. "Kid you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." He offers me a way out when he realizes how uncomfortable I am.

"I- I am hiding something from them, something big and I am scared how they would react, if I tell them about it. They probably just throw me out again." I reply sobbing.

"I don't think so kid. Why would they have taken you in in the first place, if that's the case." He answers me after a few moments.

"I don´t know, maybe just to hurt me?" I reply, before adding. "Wouldn't be the first time, somecreature pretended to be my friend just for his own amusement."

His ears twitch slightly at the word somecreature, but otherwise he stays as calm as he did for the entire time of our conversation. "You know, if they do that, then they don't deserve you."

"You really think so?" I ask a bit unsure, barely able to suppress a yawn.

"I know so." He answers immediately with a big grin. "But I think it would be better, if you go back to bed now and don't come me with the entire I am not tired thing. You didn't hide that yawn as good as you thing."

"Damn." I reply before I get up again and walk back towards the window, I jumped out earlier.

"Hey, no cursing kid."

"Fine," I reply upset that I can't even here escape this, before I try to climb back in through the window. My hooves grab the windowsill, but I am unable to pull myself in. I try multiple times and almost want to give up, when I fell a soft push helping me inside. "Thank you sir."

"Pff, Sir is for the higher ups, just call me Mango kid." He replies jokingly.

"Only if you call me Wingy." I reply in the same joking way, shortly before he turns around. He is about to walk away, when I call out to him, having a last question for this night. "Mango, can we talk again, maybe tomorrow?"

"Sure Wingy, but a bit earlier than this tomorrow night okay?" He replies with a genuine smile.

"Okay Mango, just knock at the window then."

"Will do." He replies as a final answer, before he walks back into the night. My eyes follow him until I can't see him anymore, before I look to the bed I am currently sharing with Rumble. I wonder how he could sleep through all this, without waking up. I crawl back under the cover and snuggle close to him before I close my eyes this night for the final time.

Author's Note:

Now the easy part of the story is almost done and after the next three or four Chapters, the speed of the story will begin to increase. that doesn't mean that I will go down with the quality, just only that I won't use two or three Chapters for each day then. More focusing on main events then every single day.

I hoped you had fun till now and thanks again for reading

See yea at Chapter 9

edit: last improvement for today. Have to start with Chapter 19 at some point, haven't I?

Comments

[Munro]

i have a feeling luna ordered mango to watch that place ^^

[Silent Wing]

9977069
Well she will definitly be a part of this story, I am just a unsure how to write her the best

[Black--Soul]

Damn... Mango just hear a giant red flag... I guess they getvisited by social services soon?

[Xenamare]

I have been living alone on my own and have not been visited by social services ever since my birth mother passed away in 2007 and my adopted mom that passed away in 2011 . I miss both of them . I was once visited by my other adopted mom , her spirit when I was half awake and half asleep . I believe she was checking up on her foal . ( me )

[Luckyfanisaac]

Flitter was heads over hooves for the idea and I only agreed,

I watched Rumble and Flitter for a while before I laid down in the shadow of a tree,

She replies before taking off into the sky,

"Nope Wingy, you have to earn it first."

but on the other side I am now too awake, to even think about it.

3.3 feet

But don’t let us get off topic.

"I don’t know,

don't come to me with the entire I am not tired thing.

"Sure Wingy, but a bit earlier than this tomorrow night okay?" ——)He replies with a genuine smile.

"Okay Mango, just knock at the window then."

He replies as a final answer, before he walks back into the night.

doesn't mean that I will go down with the quality, just only that I won’t use two or three Chapters for each day then.

[lainverse]

what do you mean shall we visit her later?"

What do you think should we visit her later?

a encounter

an encounter.

"A" turns into "an" when following word starts with a vowel sound. That last bit is important because otherwise it would be actually easy to remember and apply. -_-

Thus "a one" instead of "an one" and "an honorable" instead of "a honorable". Yet you can write "a historical" because "h" is pronounced even though you should be careful with actual pronunciation since there's a word "ahistorical". That's probably why some think it have to go with "an". Another example: a file (starts with a consonant sound), but an FBI (starts with a vowel sound).

[lainverse]

"Your it," before running away.

"You are it" or "you're it". I'd use the first one since it sounds better.

Unable to fall asleep again, I got out of my bed and walked to a window on the other side of the room. Carefully I push it open, trying not to wake Rumble, and jump into the backyard. Luckily my room is on the ground floor and, so it wasn't more than a meter to the ground (3.3 feet). I walked into the middle of an open area, where nothing would block the view on the night sky and sat down in silence.

Probably one of the worst parasite words I've seen on this site is "before" used to chain sequence of actions. In most cases it can be easily replaced with "and" and when you end up with more than one in the same sentence you should consider splitting that sentence before it's too late.

[LonePigeon]

It was in the middle of the night and I was shot awake from another nightmare. Unable to fall asleep again, I get out of my bed and walk to the window on the other side of the room. Carefully I push it open, trying not to wake Rumble, before I jump into the backyard. Luckily my room is on the ground floor and so it wasn't more than a meter to the ground (3.3 feet). I walked into the middle of the open area, were nothing would block the view on the night sky, before I set down in silence.

For the conversion from metric to imperial another option would be to say "about a yard"